God Good, Devil Bad
John 10:10-11
John 10:9-11, "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
This Scripture makes it very clear that there is only one way to be saved. It also makes it very clear what the Good Shepherd's role is and what the enemy's role is. I am a firm believer that there is a misconception of God that we must clear up if we ever want to receive breakthrough in some area of our lives. I want us to leave with one sentence going through our mind, "God is Not My Problem." There is one term that I use here at the church that pretty much everyone that attends knows! God Good, Devil Bad!
In our text, John 10:10, Jesus clearly identifies the origin of good and bad: "The thief (the devil or satan) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
I want to make something very, very clear. Abundant life is the will of God for you!!!
John 10:11, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
These verses give a very clear picture of God on one side bringing goodness and abundance, and the devil on the other side stealing, killing and destroying. It is essential for us to understand that Jesus and the devil are not working together. There is no secret coalition between them. They are each other's arch enemies.
The devil was an archangel of God. He rebelled against God because of pride.
Isaiah 14:12-17, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to hell, To the lowest depths of the Pit. 16 "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, 17 Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'
Satan is known in the Bible as the destroyer, liar, thief, murderer. He rebelled against God and he has never changed. Jesus and the devil are not partners! God Good, Devil Bad! Most of us say, obviously we know this. But this leads me to another point. The Lord is not using the devil to do His work. The Lord is not using the devil to develop you, train you, or to prepare you for something greater. Jesus is not using the enemy to discipline you. That is actually a pretty ridiculous thought when you actually think about it. Jesus paid for our sins. Jesus paid for our sicknesses, Jesus paid for our poverty! To say that Jesus puts any of those things on us is saying that Jesus is using the devil's tactics to do His work. Jesus is smarter than that. He doesn't need the devil's curses to get through to you.
We acknowledge that there are bad things that have happened to people. I am not saying that the devil has not affected, touched, influenced, or impacted people. He has, but what is important is that we know that God is Not Our Problem! We cannot blame God for these things.
When Adam and Eve sinned, a corruption came into the earth that affected all of creation. God did not plan to put beautiful people on the earth, then kill them with hurricanes, or destroy them with tornadoes or some other disaster. I know society calls these things "Acts of God." But God has nothing to do with these things. God's plan is good from beginning to end. God is a good God! He has good plans for you!
We serve a Good, Good God. What is important for us is that we do not perceive God as the One who is against us. God is not our problem! He is not against us! God is more for us then we are! He loves us more than we love ourselves. He wants the best for us more than we want the best for us. His love is truly amazing!
I. GOOD AND PERFECT GIFTS COME FROM GOD
James 1:12-17, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 ΒΆ Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
James makes it very clear. Every good and every perfect gift comes from the Father. God is good all the time and the devil is bad all the time. Don't get them mixed up. Getting those two facts mixed up can really mess up your believing.
II. SOURCES OF BAD PROBLEMS
So, if God is not my problem then what is? Because Lord knows, we all have problems. There are three primary sources of where bad things come from. You need to be able to identify them. When you are faced with a problem, you need to be able to tell where this problem is coming from. Too many times, we just say, well God must have brought it to me. If you think that God brought it to you, then you have no grounds to resist it.
1. Satan, or the demonic realm, demon spirits, the whole realm of darkness.
2. Sometimes what other people do affects us (their lack of knowledge, their sins, failures and mistakes).
3. Our own lack of knowledge, sin, failures, and mistakes.
The earth is not in the place of beauty and perfection that it was when it was created. Man's sin and the rebellion of Satan affected planet earth. We still see the beauty and glory that God created, but there is far more that we don't see. We will see the original design of earth when we see Heaven, because earth was patterned after it. One day we will see the earth in the way that God intended. When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!
Think about it for just a moment! God planned the raindrops and snowfall with you in mind. He formed the ocean with you in mind. He designed the mountains and the rivers with you on His mind. God wanted the lights at night to be so spectacular for you that He spoke them into existence by the billions and put each star in its place. He set planet earth the right distance from the sun so we wouldn't be scorched and we wouldn't freeze. When we begin to think about just creation, we begin to realize that we have a Father who has our very best interests at heart. He wants the best for you.
Think about your ears that He created. He put them in just the right place. What if He had turned them upward? Then, when it rained, you wouldn't be able to hear anything. Your pancreas, your liver, and your immune system are in place by design. Think of the way that you were fearfully and wonderfully made. God was thinking of you every moment of creation, and He hasn't stopped thinking about you since!
Every good and every perfect gift comes from the Father above. Remember that next time you want to blame Him for some sickness that attacks your body. Remember that next time you want to blame Him for not meeting your financial needs. God is Not Your Problem!
Now that we know that every good and every perfect gift comes from God and we know the real source of our problem, then the next step should be obvious!
III. STOP BLAMING GOD
When we look at situations that face us today, whether it be temptations, tests, trials, disasters, calamities, or tragedies, the important thing for us to remember is that we should not blame God! I have talked to so many people that say, "If God is such a great God as you say, why all these wars and calamities? Why are so many people sick? Why is there all this trouble in the earth?" In other words, in their mind, God is the One who is causing all of these problems. Your first response, without hesitation, should be, "God didn't do it." A lot of times their separation from God comes from their perception that God is their problem. God is the one who has caused all these difficulties.
In John 10:10, Jesus promised "abundant life" while Satan is identified as the force of evil who has affected the whole of creation. He is the evil one that seeks to destroy you and your family.
When Jesus came teaching, preaching, healing, and delivering, the religious leaders began to say, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." (Mark 3:22)
Jesus' response was in Mark 3:23-26, "So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 "And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 "And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end."
Jesus makes it VERY clear here that Jesus and the devil are not on the same team. They don't use the same tactics to try and get results. People in society and some even in the church have the devil and God all mixed up. Remember this: God is Not Your Problem!!!
It is very important that we get this matter settled. If you think that evil, attacks, or sickness have come from God or that God said to the devil, "It's okay for you to attack my children," then how in the world are we ever going to resist those attacks? If you believe that a physical attack or any other attack has been sent by God or that God has given the devil permission to do it, how can you pray for it to be removed from your life? People who believe this way have no resistance against these attacks because they say, "It must be God's will." Remember, just because something happens to you does not mean that it is the will of God.
God uses godly people to teach His principles, not demonic spirits, calamities, tragedies, disasters, or things that would come against us. Those things were sent against us to destroy us. God didn't come to destroy us, He came to give us abundant life!
God is Not Your Problem! God Good, Devil Bad!
